• Go to >
• SLAC Home |
• Photon Science |
• Particle Physics and Astrophysics |
• Operations |
• SLAC Today |
• For Staff |
• For Users |
• Detailed Index

Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science

SLAC is a member of the Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, Inc., a national consortium designed to offer opportunities for underrepresented minority students to obtain MS degrees in engineering and Ph.D. degrees in engineering and the natural and physical sciences through a program of paid summer internships and graduate financial assistance.

Students selected by members are invited to come to SLAC two to three consecutive summers to be employed at jobs relevant to their engineering field of interest. By the time they obtain their graduate degrees, the students will have job experiences, which will make them extremely competitive in the engineering job market.

GEM Fellows Highlighted in SLAC TODAY

August 16, 2007

Cataloguing Program Continues Full Steam

Image: Marcus Bellamy and Willie Montgomery.

Since May, the Conventional and Experimental Facilities (CEF) department has enlisted the help of several summer students to collect maintenance equipment data for the new computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) called FAMIS. A previous SLAC Today article outlined how summer student Ryan Auer and temporary employee Maria Aguaristi were collecting and cataloguing heating ventilating air conditioning (HVAC) equipment data to input to the system. Since then, the cataloguing project has continued with great success and the CEF department has reviewed the Previous Maintenance (PM) program, which will utilize the new CMMS system.

The cataloguing of equipment has continued in full force. Auer has scoured every building searching for HVAC equipment, completing the massive undertaking during the first week of August and cataloging over 2,200 pieces of equipment.

Augmenting Auer's search is summer student Pascal Bui from Andrew Hill High School, San Jose, who is cataloguing cryogenic equipment and validating site vehicle information. Since mid-June, Bui has collected data on cryogenic pressure valves, trailer truck-sized pressure vessels, and other heavy equipment such as forklifts. Bui carries a tablet PC into which he inputs the equipment data.

"The tablet PC really helps out a lot," said Bui, who has catalogued 385 pieces of equipment so far. "It's very easy to use and I can input the data quickly."

"We're trying to catalogue as many pieces of equipment as possible with our summer students," said Bachant. "When they leave, the cataloguing will be continued by each department following the same process used by the summer students. It's proven to be a success."

In addition to Ryan and Pascal, two graduate students from the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering (GEM) joined CEF. Since June, they have examined CEF's PM Program from every possible angle. Marcus Bellamy, who will attend graduate school at Georgia Tech next year, investigated how PMs are carried out in the field. Willie Montgomery, from the University of Arkansas, focused on the overall scope of the PM program, proposing a solution toward a more effective system for planning and implementing maintenance.

"Our comprehensive assessment indicates that the current PM program is more reactive than proactive. We're trying to help change that by providing concrete recommendations and a plan of action," said Montgomery.

And while SLAC is benefiting from their engineering expertise, both Bellamy and Montgomery are benefiting from their work. "It's been a great real-life experience," said Bellamy.

"We've been able to see how different departments are run from technicians' offices to human relations." "We've been extremely lucky to have such bright and wonderful students in our group this year. They’ve each made a unique contribution to the CMMS project. I will miss them," said Leslie Bachant.